Pittsfield Superintendent Details 'Nightmare' Threat Incident
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Wednesday's threat incident was Superintendent Joseph Curtis' "absolute worst nightmare."
That morning, a social media threat put Taconic and Pittsfield high schools into "hold-in-passing" procedures. It was lifted a couple of hours later when the Pittsfield Police Department confirmed that the post depicted an Orbeez gel blaster gun and there was no threat to the school community.
"The incident that happened today is a superintendent's and I'm sure everyone else in the room and everyone's absolute worst nightmare," he told the School Committee that night.
"There is no minimizing it. There is no saying we'll deal with that later."
PHS freshman Ronan Conway said while the weapon was identified as an Orbeez, or water bead, gun, that was not known at the time when the threat was made.
"My mother, my siblings, and my father were deeply, deeply disturbed by this news and I'm overwhelmingly upset that they were not informed earlier and that there was not even a delay," he said.
"I completely get not dismissing the school day and I completely support that but maybe a two-hour delay or perhaps even sending out an email to the parents the morning of or the night of to let the parents make that decision for themselves if they want to risk their child's life."
Conway said it was scary and overwhelming going to school and not knowing what was happening, something that his classmates felt, too. He said putting people's lives in danger for attendance is "unacceptable," which Curtis later countered.
"It's scarring, really, to have this hit home," he said.
"Because we always think that it's got to be another family, another school but by not informing administrators or not informing the parents, really the night of to have them make that decision is irresponsible, reckless, and disturbing. Really, I wish we could have known and putting children's lives and teachers' and administrators' lives in danger for attendance of that one school day is unacceptable."
Curtis explained that he heard of the threat just before 7:30 a.m. and told Mayor Peter Marchetti he was heading to Pittsfield High School instead of a District Leadership Council meeting.
"I can't speak for any other organization and when they knew but I can speak for me and the Pittsfield Public Schools," he added.
"As you can imagine, when an incident is happening, you're first trying to assess because you've got information coming from all areas. You've got things coming in from families, things coming in from students, and our immediate as the school was in a hold in passing was we need to get something quickly to parents. And the something is very brief just to inform them but it's never with the detail that everyone wants or I would like to deliver because, as we certainly see on social media, the inaccuracy of information spread quickly does an inordinate amount of damage."
Curtis pointed out that the district doesn't have a communications director and if it's a detailed communication, it needs approval from the PPD as "they are the authority. They give us the go-ahead. They make the determination if the school site is safe or something's unfounded."
"If we had known earlier, would I have made a different decision? I can't say that because it's all about the information at hand," he told the committee.
"But what I can say is that I would never put students in danger because of attendance and many people criticize me because I call too many delays of school or snow days but you're all too important for me to ever do that."
A more detailed message was sent to families around 9:45 a.m. It was reported that school leaders were taking "decisive action" and have begun to implement "strict disciplinary consequences" for individuals involved in the incidents.
He did not say how many students were involved, if they were enrolled in the Pittsfield schools and what the "consequences" were. No one asked during the meeting broadcast on Pittsfield Community Television.
"It did take that long because the Pittsfield Police Department was doing such a thorough job traveling at various points over the city, conducting with the cooperation of families house searches, and such," he said.
Curtis pointed out that the city had a "tremendous" amount of trouble with Orbeez guns last year.
The district sent a memo to the school community about the "concerning trend" of gel pellet guns. The toy guns shoot gel or water beads and are said to pose a risk of physical harm and being mistaken for a real firearm.
The police promised "low tolerance" for incidents involving the toy guns and possible criminal charges for repeat or more serious offenses. It was also noted that charges can still be made if children are playing with them together, as state law doesn't allow for consent to assault and battery.
The year before, someone used a similar gun to target cross-country students and a coach from Lee High.
Curtis also thanked students who report safety threats and the police department for its quick and thorough response.
Tags: Pittsfield Public Schools, school threat,
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